Obscure Music Monday: Alexander Mosolov's String Quartet No. 1

This week we are delving into the wonderfully strange world of Russian Futurism; a genre short-lived but produced many thought-provoking and enjoyable pieces. Alexander Mosolov (1900-1973) is a lesser-known composer today, but was a champion of the Soviet avant-garde, particularly in his early works.  

Born in Kiev and raised in Moscow, Mosolov attended the Moscow Conservatory and studied piano and composition with Reinhold Glière and Nikolai Myaskovsky. His music is characterized by dense textures and polytonality that may offend the audience on first listen, as it did with the Soviet authorities when he was imprisoned in the gulags for “counter-revolutionary activities” (following his involvement in a drunken brawl in 1936). Extreme chromaticism and dissonance are also very common throughout his works, however stays clear of Schoenberg’s well-structured tone-rows and instead finds expression through striking, heavily chromatic cluster chords. His later works focused more on setting Turkmen and Kyrgyz folk melodies, which were much more mainstream in style out of fear of upsetting the authorities.  

Mosolov’s first quartet, written in 1926, is unsettling and malevolent in mood. Widespread use of ostinato plays a large role throughout the piece, often stacking many ostinati on top of each other to create an angular, industrial sound. The piece begins ominously with a repeated figure in the cello, which is followed by a militaristic march and stormy bursts of chromatic notes and tempo changes. Frantic outbursts are shrouded again by mysterious slow sections, and the piece finishes with a frenetic and dizzying finale, punctuated by constant mood and tempo changes.  

While this piece may not be for the faint-of-heart, one can’t help but be drawn in by its mechanical rhythms and futurist sound-world. I hope you enjoy this zealous performance by the Novosibirsk Philharmonica Quartet!